Erik is a baseball fan who has been attending baseball games and snagging baseballs regularly since 2008.

Results tagged ‘ Pittsburgh Pirates ’

Today was Mother’s Day, and my mother-to-be fiancee Amy had to work this game, so I was there too. Luckily, even through it was a day game following a night game, there was a full batting practice.

Upon entering the stadium, I snagged my first ball of the day on the Riverwalk, or outfield concourse. Fans can’t enter the stadium until 11:30, they can only access the Riverwalk, which is the area behind the right field wall. It’s kind of dumb to open at 11 AM, and just make everyone stay out there, but whatever.

Chris Snyder threw me my first ball of the day over the iron gate. He’s on the left in the picture below, talking to Lyle Overbay.I called out for a ball from Neil Walker but so did this guy:(I didn’t realize we were at a Steeler game…)

Anyway, I snagged the ball over him, and he wasn’t too happy. He started boasting about how he ‘can jump’ because he ‘plays basketball,’ and the next ball thrown out, he was getting.

I didn’t wait around to see, as it was 11:30, and I ran into the left field bleachers. There, I found ball #3 by the bullpen, and continued my search into foul territory.

There were no balls there, but a cool groundscrew member tossed me a ball that was laying in front of the tarp.My fifth ball of the day came from Evan Meek. He handed me a ball after we had a nice five minute conversation about everything from Amy, my upcoming baby, Mother’s Day, his recovery, etc.

I only snapped a picture as they ran off the field.The Astros then came out, and Dave Clark started hitting balls to the relief pitchers, encouraging them to rob the home runs, or injury themselves and end their careers. Just ask Ruben Niebla.

It worked out though, as Clark over hit a ball into the stands that I snagged off a bleacher in this area.My seventh ball was a Hunter Pence home run catch on the fly caught on the far end of the section by the handicapped seats.I caught it while running, and spun around after making the catch doing a 360 spin. One of my better catches this year.

It was so crowded today, so there was no chance for an outfielder toss up.Or was there?

Ball #8 of the day was thrown to me by Jose Tabata in the 8th inning. I snagged it here. I had to run down a few steps to snag it from other fans who were reaching from it, but I’m pretty sure it was to me, just under thrown. It was directly in the middle of the aisle. Luckily, no one batted it away from me.

After the game, I took Amy out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Old Mexico located in Washinton PA.

Before heading to PNC Park, Amy and I went to Color Me Mine in Squirrel Hill.Once inside, one picks out a piece to paint.

Then, one picks colors for their pallet from a paint wall filled with different colors of paint.
There is a guide to the colors hanging above the paint. The shade on
the left is one coat, and the shade on the right of each color is three
coats.Amy and I chose a piggy bank to make for our daughter, due in early August.Amy and I painted the pig together. She pained the body of the pig.And I worked on the front.After we got the pig just like we wanted it, I detailed in purple our daughter’s name on one side of the piggy bank.This was the end result:On the other side I wrote her year of birth, 2011.And here’s the face I painted:It’s going to be fired in a kiln and we’ll pick it up next week!

After that it was off to PNC Park. It began raining at 3:50. It never rained more than a drizzle, and it drizzled for about 10 minutes. This was just enough for the PNC Park groundscrew to decide to cancel batting practice for the day.

To pass the time, I played catch with Nick Pelescak and Zac Weiss on the bridge.Always a good time.Of course, since there was no batting practice going on, there wasn’t much to do, so I went over behind the Astros pitchers when they came out. On my way over, I found my first ball of the day in the seats along the right field foul line.

It was likely left over from the Pirates batting practice, because they had been hitting before the light drizzle started.

Here’s the Astros doing some light running:When they came out, Wilton Lopez tossed Enerio Del Rosario’s glove into the stands. I took his glove, and Wilton Lopez and I made an exchange.

Lopez was confused by the string, so I just told him I use it for extra padding. Thanks to Nick Pelescak for the picture.Later, when the Astros were done throwing, Lopez tossed me his warm up ball, my second one of the day.Afterwards, I walked around for a bit.There ended up being 32,000 fans at this game, so there wasn’t any chance for toss up balls from the outfielders, so I ended with two balls.

Nothing happened on the riverwalk…Not much else happened for me inside either. I didn’t get shut out at least.

My first ball of the day was Pedro Alvarez opposite field ground rule double that bounced over the fence. The ball took a weird hop, and I tried to barehand it. I dropped the ball, but recovered it at my feet. I got it here:My second ball of the day was a home run catch off the bat of an unknown Astro. I caught it on the fly here. Standard catch.My third and final ball of the day came at the very end of batting practice. Fernando Abad, seen here in a group of Astros pitchers,

turned and threw a ball into the crowd as they were running off the
field. The ball sailed over my head, landed on the steps, bounced off
the plexiglass to the upper bleachers and back towards the handicapped
seats. I reached over the railing separating the handicapped seats
from the aisle and caught the ball. That was it for batting practice.

I elected not to go to last night’s game, as batting practice was rained out by storms rolling through around 4 PM.

Today was like the movie Groundhog Day, because at the same exact time, a quick thunderstorm popped up. It rained for about 10 minutes from 3:55-4:05, which was just enough for batting practice to get moved indoors.

I asked Jonathan Sanchez for a ball twice in the first 30 minutes, once in center field, and once by the bullpen. He ignored me both times. I planned to ask a third time, but his side session went long, and at 5:30 I jogged over to the right field foul line to try to get a ball from a pitcher.

Ryan Vogelsong had finished throwing and was running sprints. I noticed a ball in his glove.I waited patiently for him to finish, and when he did, I asked him for the ball, and he flipped it to me.I also asked him to sign my ticket since there wasn’t much else going on:A bit later I noticed virtually every fan in the stadium crowd along the right field line.The Giants “rock stars” Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson and his beard were out throwing.They didn’t even stop to sign autographs on their way back in.

As for the game, I spent most of it in the club level. I didn’t get any foul balls, but Buster Posey hit one three seats away from my seat in the 9th inning after I had left the club. I just stared dumbfounded at the club seats, it would’ve been such an easy catch. That’s the way it goes.

Today was the make up game of Friday’s rained out contest between the Pirates and Nationals.

When the gates opened, I ran in and found my first ball of the day in the front row near the bullpen.I only got one other ball during the Pirates portion and it was a home run ball that probably was catchable by myself or Nick, but we both missed it and it bounced back onto the field. Evan Meek picked it up and tossed it to me for ball #2.

When the Pirates ran off the field, I got Daniel McCutchen to throw me a ball from center field, but it fell well short. I was luckily able to glove trick it for ball #3.

I also glove tricked ball #4 in left field when the Nationals were hitting.

My fifth ball of the day was a home run hit by an unknown righty. I made the clean catch here:I then struck up a conversation with ex-Pirate Tom Gorzelanny. I asked him if he still had all the Dave Matthews Band CDs that I sent him a few years back. He said yeah and then started talking to me about DMB for a bit.During the conversation, a batter hit a line drive that bounced on the warning track. I snagged it as it skipped off the warning track just to my left without moving or breaking conversation with Gorzelanny. I was planning on asking him for a ball, and that ground rule double had just ruined it.

Anyway, the Nationals weren’t taking much initiative in collecting the balls from the warning track, so I glove tricked ball #7 here in left field,and glove tricked #8 in section 141.I was then tipped off by ex-ballhawk Andrew McDonald about another ball, and glove tricked that one for #9.My tenth ball of the day was thrown in right field by Doug Slaten, who seemingly hooked up every fan on the wall.After a few missed opportunities for home runs, I tracked down a Matt Stairs home run for Ball #11 that landed in the second to last row on the wall.That was all for batting practice.

During the game, I decided to sit in the club seats because there was virtually no one there. Many fans stayed home to watch the Penguins game.Here’s a view of the field from the club seats:I had a perfect chance at a foul ball. The place was virtually empty.In the second inning, new Pirate Brandon Wood made his bucco debut. He took the first two pitches he saw. On the third John Lannan offering, he took a rip. He fouled the pitch off into the second deck. I jumped out of my seat immediately and went running throw the row to try and make the catch.

I ran to the end of the next section and made the catch at the end of the row seen here:It was ball #12 and my first game ball of the season.

Here’s the catch:And showing the ball off:Video:The catch was featured on Sportscenter as a lead in to their top 10 plays.

Anyhow, it rained on and off throughout the rest of the night, so I spent some time between innings in the club level to stay dry.Here are today’s baseballs:And the sweet spots:STATISTICS:Game: 12 balls (4 hit, 2 thrown, 5 device, 1 found)Season: 77 balls (29 hit, 17 thrown, 21 device, 10 found)Games: 11 gamesAverage: 7.00 balls per gameCareer: 1,199 ballsAttendance: 12,4572010 through 11 games: 77 balls (0 balls behind last year’s pace)

It was Easter Sunday, so a big crowd wasn’t going to be on hand, which was a bonus. However, the previous night’s game had ended around 11PM, and since today was a day game, the chances of batting practice were slim. Add to the fact that it had drizzled all morning, and there was virtually no chance of batting practice whatsoever.

I got to the ballpark at 11:05 AM, just in time to see three Pirates leaving the bullpen after a side session. Two of the folks at the bullpen fence had baseballs. I had missed an early opportunity.PNC Park makes everyone stay on the Riverwalk for the first 30 minutes on Sundays, so there wasn’t too much to do. I noticed that someone doesn’t like Andrew McCutchen so much:

I met a couple ballhawks from Ohio. It was a father and son duo. They were friendly and snagged several balls of their own throughout the day.

At 11:30, I ran over to where the Nationals were playing catch.I got Chad Gaudin to toss me a ball near the dugout as he was walking back after completing his pre-game throwing.

I set up behind Sean Burnett throwing with Drew Storen. I got Sean Burnett to toss me my second ball of the day after they finished up.I camped out near a third ball and waited patiently. I asked a coach for it, and he asked if I’d gotten a ball yet. Since it was Easter Sunday, I couldn’t lie. I told him I’d already got one today, but wouldn’t mind another. He threw the ball to another ballhawk, but I was hoping that it would give me some good karma.After the Nationals were done, I walked around the park to take pictures and look for easter eggs.

Upper Deck:Right Field Upper Deck:Riverwalk:Seating Bowl:Looking out towards the Point:Abe was in the park, along with the other Nationals mascot Presidents.Once the game started, I got Andrew McCutchen’s warm up ball in the first inning,and Garrett Jones’ in the fourth.That was pretty much it.

Today was a Saturday game, so gates opened at 4:30 rather than 5:00. I was probably fourth in line or so. Usually Nick and I play catch on the bridge, but it wasn’t closed off, so I stood and watched two older ballhawks argue about who loves baseball more.Of course, there would be a threat of rain today, as a cold front passed by dangerously close to Pittsburgh, bringing storms just south of the city. The wind was howling out to left field, which would hopefully benefit me by pushing fly balls out of the park.Amy left before the gates opened to go to work on the inside of the stadium, but she took some cool pics. This is probably my favorite:When the stadium opened, I saw a few balls in left field on the foul line and went over to grab them.When I got to the spot, there were three balls there. One was up against the fence, one was about six feet out, and one was only gettable using the glove trick. Once I got into the seating area, I noticed Nick running right behind me, and he grabbed the one up against the fencing before I could get to it. I was able to reach the one six feet out by leaning out over the fence and grabbing it with my glove. I let the glove trick ball be, as I don’t like using the glove trick while the Pirates are batting.

My second ball was a ground rule double in section 134 that I snagged here:That would be all I would get during the Pirates batting practice. 45 minutes. 2 balls. Poor.

Balls #3 and #4 were glove tricked off of the left field warning track.My fifth ball of the day was a home run hit by a Nationals batter. I was starting to get blocked off by fans, so I took the open row five rows back as I tracked the ball. It turned out that it was the perfect row and I caught the ball on the fly.Ball #6 was a home run that sailed over my head, hit off the facade of the general admission bleachers and carried back to the lower bleachers. I out jumped another ballhawk and snagged the ball on the rebound.My seventh ball of the day was caught on the fly off the bat of Rick Ankiel in the third row in center field. This was the view.Ankiel lofted another fly ball two pitches later than I flat out missed. It tipped off of my glove. It was my worst error this year.

At 5:51, the Nationals ran off the field. The was some light rain that was to arrive around 7PM, so the grounds crew wanted to make sure it had over an hour to put the tarp on the field. It wouldn’t even start drizzling until game time. That’s our grounds crew for you though. It cost us about 25 minutes of batting practice.

The game was delayed an hour and eleven minutes by “rain.” It actually was barely raining. It was a little mist that terrified the grounds crew. You can tell it was barely raining in the photo above by the amount of fans seated in the outfield sections. If it was raining, they wouldn’t be there.

What a frustrating day. I missed at least five balls including a game home run. This was by far the worst ballhawking day of the year for me.

Here are today’s baseballs:Sweet spots:By the way, I injured myself after batting practice. I had a huge bag and I filled it with 59 Andrew McCutchen Action Figurines, 59 First Pitch Magazines, and 59 Scratch and Win Cards.The bag was filled to the brim, so I had to carry it in front of me almost a mile to my car. I couldn’t sling it over my shoulder. Anyway, I ended up hurting my back, and having back spasms the rest of the night. I couldn’t even run or jog.

There was an 80% chance of rain forecast for today, and sure enough it rained all day long.

Being the first game of a homestand, Amy and I went to the game.

When we parked at 4:15, it was raining. When we got to the gate, it was still raining. We took cover under one of the overhangs.It was still dreary and drizzling as 5pm approached, and I took a few minutes to familiarize myself better with the Nationals pitchers in case any of them were out throwing or in the bullpen.At about 4:53, we got into line, and everything looked normal. The ticket scanners and giveaway hander-outers were all in place.However, 5PM rolled on by, and the supervisor was no where to be found to open the gates.

About 5 minutes later he appeared and said, “The game’s cancelled. It’ll be made up Monday at 7:05.”It wasn’t a total wash though, I was able to trade in some tickets at the box office.

Also, rather than get no batting practice, now there is a chance to get an extra BP in for the Monday game, so it’s not all bad.

The weather is looking pretty bad for Pittsburgh the next three days though. Hopefully Mother Nature cooperates.

Unfortunately, I lost half of my pictures from the beginning of batting practice due to a malfunction of my camera. I must’ve left it on in my pocket, and when I went to take a picture half way through batting practice, it was in Chinese. The format option must’ve been pressed, and everything got erased from my camera.

So, ball #1 was a home run hit by Ryan Braun to the handicapped seats in left field. I jumped over a railing and picked it up for my first ball of the day.

My second ball was snagged in the ivy in center field.Ryan Braun hit it there about 5:20, and I kept my eye on it the whole time, thinking it might be reachable. It was, and at 5:30 when the rest of the stadium opened, I ran over and grabbed it.

My third ball was pointed out to me by one of the ushers in center field. Both ushers in center field are really cool guys.

Ball #4 was fielded off the bat of Craig Counsell. I decided to head over to foul territory for a bit as there were three weak left handers up, and there was no screen protecting third base. I figured that they would try to go the other way a few times. The strategy paid off, as Counsell sliced a grounder right at me.Ball #5 was a ground rule double off the bat of Wil Nieves. I chased it down and grabbed it with my barehand as the ball was rolling all over the place under the bleachers:That was it for batting practice. Five baseballs. It was pretty disappointing, but the Brewers were focusing on a opposite field approach, perhaps expecting Paul Maholm to work them outside all night.

As for the game itself, I wandered around and took a picture from the upper deck during pregame.Then I sat in the club section for a couple innings waiting for a foul ball that wouldn’t come.I then returned to the outfield areas hoping to snag a warm up ball.

I would get Andrew McCutchen’s 7th inning warm up ball here.It was my first McCutchen warm up ball of the year.

An inning later, I snagged Jose Tabata’s 8th inning warm up ball for ball #7.The ball was bobbled by these college aged kids in the front row. I seized the opportunity by snatching it with my glove as it was being dropped by one of them.

I got to the ballpark around 4:45 pm, and this was the scene at the Riverwalk.The stairs leading down were blocked off with caution tape because the Allegheny River was overflowing. However, I went down anyway. One ball bounced out as I arrived. Had I been five seconds earlier I would’ve had it, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Here’s a different angle:My first ball of the day once the stadium opened was snagged here. It was a home run that I chased down here:The Pirates batting practice continues to be less than stellar, as they fail to reach the seats very often. Once the Pirates were done hitting, I changed into my Brewers gear, and the action began.

The Brewers first group contained Carlos Gomez, Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Braun, and Prince Fielder. They hit a bunch of homers.

I snagged my second ball in section 134 off the bat Jonathan Lucroy.My third ball was a home run hit by Ryan Braun. I could tell that it was going to be way over my head, so I ran back under the bleachers and snagged it under the rotunda.My fourth ball was glove tricked right next to the Pirates bullpen door.I also saw this there:However, it was 5:28, and I had knocked it snug against the wall and couldn’t see it anymore, as I couldn’t lean out over the wall because of the fencing. I gave up and let it go. Totally forgetting about it.

I checked in right field for an easter egg or two, but there was nothing there, and I didn’t want to miss out on all the action in left field, so I returned to left. The second group also put plenty of balls into the seat.

Rickie Weeks hit a home run ball that I chased down under the rotunda for ball #5. And moments later, a batter that I believe was Casey McGehee hit a home run that also went under the rotunda which I tracked down.

Ball #7 of the day was a ground rule double hit by Weeks that I snagged here. It was a hard hit line drive that skipped over the wall quickly, but I was able to stay with it to make the catch.

My eighth ball was a glove trick ball snagged right by the 325 sign:That was it for batting practice. After batting practice, Nick tipped me off to a ball in the bullpen. It was the same ball that I started working on at 5:28 that I had knocked against the wall. I had totally forgotten about it.

Nick assisted me by going to the second deck of bleachers to guide me to the ball. Remember, I couldn’t see it, because there’s a fence there, so I couldn’t see the ball below at all. I was able to knock the ball away from the wall, and with my arm through the fence, was able to glove trick it.Thanks to Ian Weir for taking the picture.

Ball #10 came around 6:55 when Kevin Correia, the Pirates started finished his warm ups in the bullpen. I asked politely for the ball, and he looked up and tossed it to me.Moments later, Ball #11 came from Jose Tabata in the first inning. I noticed he was looking at a group of college aged folks, so I went and stood directly to their right. Since I was the only one with the glove, he fired me a perfect strike. He put some zip on the throw too. Notice how small the crowd was at game time. There was a Penguins playoff game, and I doubt that half of the 8,000 fans that bought tickets actually showed up.

Remember those Allegheny River pictures from 4:45 pm? The river was rising:Pretty cool huh?Well, despite the small crowds, I didn’t snag another ball. Here are today’s 11 baseballs:And the sweet spots.

Notice that the Brewers weren’t writing those funny phrases on their baseballs like last year. Disappointing.

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